

J)ts£7 



LOCAL HISTORY, 



OF- 



DILLSBURG. PA. 



•BY- 



A. N. ESLINGER, 



FIFTY YEARS A RESIDENT. 



WITH NOTES AND COMMENTS, 

FfiOM THE— 

EARLIEST KNOWN SETTLEMENT 

TO THE 

PRESENT 
1902. 



PRICE 25 CENTS 



LOCAL HISTORY, 

OF 

DILLSBURG, PA. 



BY 



A. N. ESLINGER, 

FIFTY YEARS A RESIDENT. 



WITH NOTES AND COMMENTS, 



-FROM THE- 



EARLIEST KNOWN SETTLEMENT 



-TO THE- 



PRESENT 
1902. 



o- 



DJLLSEURG BULLETIN PRINT. 






&1SH 




A. N. ESLINGER. 



ERRATA. 

On page 11 the sentence which reads: "In 1898 
there was $334,057.86 less on deposit than in the 
year ending September 2, 1902," should read as 
follows: In 1898 there was $334,057.86 less deposited 
than in the year ending September 2, 1902. 



■ ■ • 

- 



I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

DILLSBURG, PA. 

This town which bears the honored name of the 
most prominent Scotch Irish settler of the vicinity, 
was laid out by one of his descendants in the year 
1800. The town is situated on the old Harrisburg 
and Baltimore road, near the South Mountain, in 
York county, about twenty-one miles from the City 
of York, the county seat of York County and ten 
miles from Carlisle, the county seat of Cumberland 
county and twenty-two miles from Gettysburg, the 
county seat of Adams county. Matthew Dill was one 
of the first settlers of the vicinity of Dilleburg, 
locating there about the year 1740. He 
came from the County of Monaghan, Ireland. He 
died in 1750, a large sandstone slab marks his grave 
in the old Graveyard near Dillsburg. His son, Col. 
Matthew Dill, became famous in the Revolution- 
ary War, for his bravery and services in the army. 
He obtained a free patent of land, three leagues 
square, on part of which Dillsburg is built. When 
the town was laid out there were only six houses in 
the place, including the old Monaghan Presbyterian 
Church, and there are now only three remaining of 
the original buildings. Two on North Baltimore 
street, one of them owned by D. W. Beitzel, our pres- 
ent Postmaster, and the other by E. A. Fishel, and 



ore on South Baltimore street, owned by Wm. Har- 
bolt. When I first knew the place in 1839, the house 
above named owned by D. W. Beitzel, was owned and 
occupied by the Rev. Anderson B. Quay, who was at 
that time serving the old Monaghan Church as Pas- 
tor. He was the father of Hon. Matthew Stanley 
Quay, who is at this time serving his third term as 
one of our United States Senators. The one owned 
by E. A. Fishel, was owned and occupied by John 
Dill, one of the descendants of the founder of Dills- 
burg, and the other one was occupied by John Smith, 
the father of John A. and Geo. W. Smith, who still 
reside in Dillsburg. There were two Hotels in the 
place. They have both been taken away and new 
ones built on the same stands. One was built by S. 
P. Nelson, deceased in 1863, the other was rebuilt by 
Peter Sidle in 1901. They are both excellent three- 
story brick buildings and are well calculated to ac- 
commodate strangers and travellers. But the town 
increased slowly until the year 1833 when it was in- 
corporated as a borough, with limited powers, and 
named in the charter, The Borough of Dillsburg. At 
this time the town had only about forty house, less 
than two hundred of a population. According to the 
charter the election of Borough Officers was held an- 
nually one week previous to the time of holding the 
the regular township elections. At the first election 
Jacob Heiges, (father of Dr. J. D. Heiges, of York 
City,) was a Judge of the election, and Dr. George L. 
Sheaie: was chosen as the Chief Burgess of the Bor- 
ough and Jacob Heiges was chosen Tax Collector of 
the borough. The borough then began to improve. 



The sirests were grade;! and piked and brick pave- 
ments ten feet wide were laid in front of the resi- 
dences on Baltimore street, (the main street,) which 
was quite an improvement, for the convenience for 
pedestrians to attend church and for the children at- 
tending school, and it proved to be a great benefit to 
the citizens of the borough. The principal object in 
writing this book is to show the present generation 
the origin of this borough and its growth. My sub- 
ject will be 



DILLSBURG, PAST AND PRESENT. 



II. 

ORIGIN OF DILLSBURG. 

Dillsburg was laid out by Col. Matthew Dill, in the 
year 1800. There were at this time only six houses 
in the place. Three of the original houses are still 
standing. 



III. 

FIRST CHURCH. 

The Presbyterian Church in Dillsburg, ecclesiasti- 
cally known as the Monaghan church, derives its 
name from the township in which it was originally lo- 
cated about one-fourth of a, mile west of Dillsburg. 
The exact year of its organization is not known, but 
preaching services were held as early as 1737, hence 
it is one of the oldest churches in the county. In 
1782 Rev. Samuel Waugh became the Pastor, and un- 
der his pastorate "Th'e Monaghan Presbyterian" 
Church was rebuilt, and the location changed to the 
one at present occupied. It is located in Dillsburg, 
but it was built eighteen years (1782) before Dills- 
burg was laid out, on a piece of land donated by Col. 
Dill as a site for a church and burying ground. This 
was a stone structure about fifty feet long and forty 
feet wide. A small stone building about fifteen feet 
square with a fire place in it was attached to the 
north side. This was called the study. In 1813 the 
church was partly destroyed by fire. The next year, 
1814, it was rebuilt, and remained in that condition 
until the year 1849, when it was torn down, and a 
brick building put in its place. In 1887 this church 
was remodeled by placing a tower at the southwest 
corner and placing a bell in it, &c. But the same 
church still remains and preaching services are held 
in it every Sabbath. The second church in Dillsburg 
was built by the Methodist Episcopal congregation in 
1843. It was located on North Baltimore street. It 
was remodeled and enlarged in 1879, and at this writ- 
ing, 1902, it has been torn down, and the congrega- 

6 



tion is busy building a new one, much larger than the 
old one. It will be buff brick with a large tower, and 
it is expe?ted to be ready for services before the first 
of April, 1903. The third church is St. Paul's Lu- 
theran. This church was built in 1856. It is located 
on South Baltimore street. It was remodeled since it 
was built, and enlarged. It is a brick building, and 
has regular preaching every Sabbath. The fourth 
church was built by the United Brethren in Christ in 
the year 1894. It is also a brick edifice located on 
East Harrisburg street, and has preaching every Sab- 
bath. 



IV. 

FIRST SABBATH SCHOOL. 

The first Sabbath School known by the name of 
"The Dillsburg Union Sabbath School," was organ- 
ized about the year 1834 by Daniel Kraber and Miss 
Catherine Eichelberger and later the wife of Enos 
Young, Esq., and others in the study of the old 
Monaghan Presbyterian Church with between thirty 
and forty pupils. It continued in this building only 
a few years. It was then removed to the public 
school house. It continued its sessions there until 
the year 1865, when it was removed to the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, but was still continued as a 
Union Sabbath School. Soon after this removal in the 
same year, the Lutheran congregation organized a 
Sabbath School in their own church. In a few years 
after this date the Presbyterians organized a Sab- 
bath School in their church. This ended the old 



Union Sabbath School. But in 1873 the Methodist 
Episcopal congregation organized a Sabbath school in 
their church. In 1894 the United Brethren organized 
a Sabbath School in their new church. You will 
therefore notice the increase in Sabbath School effort. 
In 1834 one Union Sabbath School with about forty 
scholars in a town with a population of two hundred. 
At this writing we have four Sabbath Schools with 
about five hundred in attendance with a population of 
eight hundred. This you will notice is a marvelous 
increase of attendance. The schools are all in a pros- 
perous condition. 



POST OFFICE. 

The first post office was established in Dillsburg 
January 8th, 1816. Mr. Wm. Gillilan was the first 
Postmaster. His successor was Asa Sawyer. He was 
again succeeded by Mr. Gillilan. Dr. George L. 
Shearer became his successor in 1828, and served con- 
tinuously for seventeen years. He was succeeded by 
J. B. Hurst in 1845. He was succeded by Mrs. Mary 
Stewart in 1849. She was succeded by H. G. Sidle 
in 1853. He was succeeded by Alex. Wentz in 1857, 
and he was succeeded by Dr. T. L. Cathcart in 1861. 
Dr. Cathcart served two years and resigned, and in 
1863 A. N. Eslinger was appointed Postmaster and he 
filled the office for twenty -two years in succession. A. 
N. Eslinger was succeeded by Lemuel Ross in 1885, 
and Mr. Boss was succeeded by A. N". Eslinger in 
1889. Mr. Eslinger served four years and seven 



months and was succeeded again by Mr. Ross, who 
served four years. Mr. Ross was succeeded in 1<S ( .)7 
by D. W. Beitzel, who is still at this writing Post- 
master, 1902, When A. X. Eslinger first got the 
post office it was worth to the Postmaster only one 
hundred and twenty dollars a year. But as the busi- 
ness increased the salary increased yearly until at this 
time, 1902, it is worth about one thousand dollars a 
year. We have now two daily mails by railroad, and 
three stage coaches leave the post office every morn- 
ing during the w^eek to supply the rural districts with 
mail matter, and two coaches in addition leave the of- 
fice for Rural Delivery, and they return every even- 
ing with the mail matter gathered up to have it 
mailed in the Post Office at Dillsburg. This makes 
the Dillsburg Post Office the largest fourth -class office 
in the County of York. 



VI. 
FIRST PRINTING PRESS. 

The first paper published in Dillsburg was in 1870, 
and was called the New Era. It was published by 
G. W. Nichols, semi-monthly, but he soon after sold 
out to other parties, and the name of the paper was 
changed to ''The Dillsburg Bulletin." It is still con- 
tinued and is published weekly, and has a circulation 
of over one thousand regular subscribers, and 
is an excellent medium through which business- 
men can advertise their business, and it has a large 
patronage on that line. The Editor and Publisher of 
the paper at this time is Wm. M. Elicker, Manager. 
His residence is Dillsburg. Pa. 

9 



VII. 

RAILROAD. 

Dillsburg was without a railroad until the year 
1873, when a charter was granted for the construc- 
tion of a railroad from Dillsburg to Meehanicsburg, a 
distance of nine miles, named The Dillsburg and 
Mechanicsburg Railroad Company. The principal 
incorporators in this movement were Dr. G. L. 
Shearer, Christian Render, John N. Logan, Esq., 
James J. Moore, Col. S. X. Railey, S. P. Nelson and 
George Lau and others. The first regular train came 
into Dillsburg July 18th, 1873. Dillsburg is at this 
time accommodated with three regular trains daily. 
The road is doing a good business. Its receipts at 
Dillsburg amount to about thirty thousand dollars 
annually. It is a feeder to the Cumberland Valley 
Railroad and is controlled by that company, and it is 
equipped with good engines and cars, and accommo- 
dating officers. 



VIII. 
THE RANK. 

A Deposit Rank was organized in Dillsburg in 
1873. Capt. Wm. E. Miller, of Carlisle was its first 
President and John X. Logan, Esq., was its first 
Cashier. It continued in business until the year 1878, 
when it was reorganized and a charter secured for a 
National Rank, and is known as The Dillsburg Na- 
tional Rank. It has been doing an excellent business 
ever since it was organized. Joseph Deardorff was 
its first President and John N. Logan, Esq. , its first 

10 



Cashier. Mr. Deardorff died, and Mr. Logan resigned 
on account of ill health. The Bank is at this time 
located on the corner of Baltimore and Harrisburg 
Streets, in Dillsburg, in a beautiful brick building 
three stories high, with iron front. The President at 
this time is D. \V. Beitzel, and Geo. W. Cook is 
Cashier, S. R. Posey is Teller, and Ralph B. Cook is 
the Book-keeper. This building was erected in 1891 
by the Bank, and it makes a beautiful appearance. It 
is quite an improvement to the town and a great con- 
venience to the business-men of the Borough, and to 
the surrounding country. Its financial business you 
will find as follows: Total deposits during the year 
ending Sept. 2, 1902, was $1,452,6, >7.94, checks paid 
during the same year, $1,416,765.80, showing an in- 
crease in deposits during the year of $30,672.14. The 
present line of deposits approximates one quarter of a 
million dollars. In 1898 there was $334, 057. 86 less 
on deposit than in the year ending Sept. 2, 1902. 
This shows a remarkable increase in the business done 
in the Dillsburg National Bank. This surely speaks 
well for the Bank. This statement is taken from the 
records of the Bank by the Cashier and handed to me 
by the Teller. Taking the Dillsburg National Bank 
building for beauty and location, and its accommo- 
dating Officers and Directors, I can truly say that it 
is not very easily surpassed as a banking institution. 



11 



IX. 

MORALS OF DILLSBUKG. 

The morals of the town are in a fair condition as 
compared with other towns of the same size. As al- 
ready stated, we have four churches and four Sabbath 
Schools. There are at least five hundred people at- 
tending our churches on the Sabbath and fully as 
many attend the Sabbath Schools. Our hotels are 
closed on the Sabbath and so are all the other places 
of business. After church hours on the Sabbath, our 
town is very quiet. You see very few people on the 
streets, and it looks as though the Sabbath was re- 
spected. How was it forty years ago as compared 
with the present? Then the Hotels were kept open 
on the Sabbath the same as during the week. One 
little Sabbath School with about forty children at- 
tending it, most of the children running the streets. 
Hotels were regular loafing places for old and young. 
Whiskey was sold at three cents a drink. Pitching 
horse shoes and pennies and playing ball was a com- 
mon thing to do on the Sabbath at that day. All 
these things have long since passed away, for which 
we feel glad, and thank our Heavenly Father for 
these great reforms. But as I desire to give the past 
as well as the present, of Dillsburg to the public, you 
can plainly see that there is a great improvement in 
the morals in Dillsburg. But I confess that there is 
still plenty of room for improvement, so we must 
confess with the poet 

"On this earthly ball below 

The wheat and tares together grow, ' ' 

12 



and Dillsburg is not excepted. But when wecompare 
our Borough with other places of its size I think 
we can truly say for morals our town will compare 
favorably with other towns of its size. 



X. 
PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

When the first law was passed by our Legislature 
in 1834, it was made optional with the citizens of the 
different boroughs and townships whether they would 
accept the provisions of the law or not. This was 
left to a vote of the people of the Boroughs or Town- 
ships. I said in the beginning of these articles that 
when Dillsburg w T as incorporated as a Borough, it was 
with limited powers and one of the limits was, that 
the Borough and the Township of Carroll should re- 
main as one School District, and it can be truthfully 
said that Dr. George L. Shearer and Thomas P. Blair. 
the former was a Whig, and the latter a Democrat, 
labored hard to get the District to accept the benefits 
of the law, and at an election called for the purpose. 
Carroll District accepted the benefits of the 
law as early as the year 1836. This was one of 
of the first districts in the County to accept the law. 
The Directors at once proceeded to buy a piece of 
ground on South Baltimore Street, and built a one- 
story brick schoolhouse and opened a school. About 
ten years after this time they found the building too 
small, and they built an end to it. At this same time 
many of the pupils were still sent into the town 
school from the township. The school in 1845 bad 
one hundred and forty-six pupils. Two teachers were 

13 



employed to teach this large school. They each got 
a salary of eighteen dollars a month for a six months 
term. Adding the cost of fuel it cost the tax-payers 
about two hundred and forty dollars a year. But in 
1855, the Legislature passed an Act separating all 
boroughs and townships as School Districts. This re- 
duced the number of our pupils. But as our borough 
increased in population the old schoolhouse became 
too small, and in 1877 the directors decided to build 
a new one on the same site where the old one stood at 
a cost of thirty-five hundred dollars, with three 
school rooms. But in 1894 the Directors considered 
the one recently built too small, so they unroofed it 
and made it much larger and put a Mansard roof on 
it, and made it three stories high, with four school 
rooms. We have at this time three schools. The 
term is eight months. We pay the teachers for teach- 
ing the three schools eleven hundred and fifty dollars 
for the term, adding about one hundred dollars for 
fuel, it would make the cost over thirteen hundred 
dollars for the term. You will notice that in 1845 it 
cost the Borough two hundred and forty dollars to 
teach one hundred and forty-six pupils for a six 
months term, while in 1902 it costs over thirteen hun- 
dred dollars to teach the same number of pupils eight 
months. This shows quite an increase of teacher's 
wages, but shows likewise a great increase in the 
property owner's taxes. But then we are living in a 
fast age, and somebody must pay the bills. School 
and building tax in 1902 was five and one-fourth 
mills. 



14 



XL 

BUILDINGS. 

I have already stated that in 1800 we had six 
houses in the plaee. In 1833 when the town was in- 
corporated we had forty houses, but in 1902 we have 
two hundred and twenty, and we have a much better 
class of buildings than we had in an early day. Our 
Bank building will compare favorably with the Bank 
buildings of many of our county seats. Our business 
rooms, many of them, are large and well furnished. 
But I shall speak more particularly about them un- 
der the head of Busixess Men. 



XII. 
POPULATION. 



Dillsburg when first laid out in 1800. with six 
houses, allowing five of a family to each house, would 
make a population of thirty persons. In 1833 when 
the town was incorporated there were forty houses, at 
the same ratio it would make the population two 
hundred. In 1890 the census report makes the popu- 
lation five hundred and eighty-seven. But the cen- 
sus report of 1900 makes the population seven hun- 
dred and thirty-two. But at this time, 1902, our 
population in the borough exceeds eight hundred. 
The town has not grown very fast, but it has never 
taken a step backward. 



15 



XIII. 

BUSINESS AND BUSINESS MEN". 

There are at this time sixty-five business men and 
women engaged in the different lines of business. 
Some of them I will speak of in this pamphlet. There 
are at this time fifty-six different places of business. 
I have already given you a full description of our 
Bank and the amount of business they do. I will 
now describe the next business house to you, owned 
by K. L. Nesbit. This is a three-story brick house 
fifty feet front, extending back one hundred and 
ninety-eight feet to the public alley. The firm is do- 
ing business under the name of R. L. Nesbit & 
Co. They keep a Hardware, Stove and Furniture 
Store, and they carry a very large stock of nearly 
every kind and quality. Mr. Nesbit commenced 
business in 1887 in a small building located at the 
name place that he is doing business at this time, 
keeping only a hardware store at first. He prospered 
in his business and he then added to his hardware a. 
regular line of stoves and furniture, until his busi- 
ness increased to such an extent, that at this time he 
has one of the largest and finest business rooms in 
the county, and carries a very large stock of goods of 
every kind above mentioned. 

In the same block we have J. F. Rearick's Shoe 
Store. He keeps constantly on hand a large assort- 
ment of Shoes and Hats. 

We pass the printing office of which we have al- 
ready spoken, and come to A. K. Stray er, Carpenter 
and Contractor. He employs from six to twelve 
hands, and does a business of five thousand dollars a 
year. 

16 



We next come to C. K. Weaver's Shoe and Hat 
Store. He keeps constantly on hand a large assort- 
ment of shoes and hats. 

We next come to the firm of Smyser, Creager & Co.. 
who keep a large Hardware, Stove and Furniture 
Store. Mr. Smyser, the senior partner of the firm, 
opened a Hardware Store in the north end of the 
Shearer block less than four years ago. His busi- 
ness increased, and he took in a partner and enlarged 
his stock and added to it stoves and furniture. The 
firm also bought out the Hardware Store kept almost 
opposite, known as the Dillsburg Hardware Co. The 
firm is now known as Smyser, Cr eager & Co. They 
run both rooms and keep a large assortment of all 
kinds of hardware, stoves and furniture on hand. 

We next come to M. W. Briteher's Drug Store. He 
keeps an excellent assortment of Drugs. He also 
keeps the news office, and keeps on sale quite a va- 
riety of city daily papers. 

We next come to Charles Gallatin's Restaurant, 
where you can get j^our meals or lunch, or ice cream 
at all hours. 

Then you come to S. M. Ensminger's Meat Shop. 
He kills from four to five beeves a week, and keeps 
meat constantly on hand to accomodate customers. 
Then we come to John H. Dick & Co.'s Dry Goods 
and Grocery Store. He keeps a large assortment of 
dry goods and notions on hand. Then we come to 
the Palace Hotel, kept by Peter Sidle, of which I 
have already spoken. We next come to Jerry May- 
berry's Harness Shop, and then we come to John L. 
Anderson, Paper Hanger and Undertaker. Next we 

17 



come to C. W. Sheffer, Coachmaker, who keeps eon- 
stantly on hand a large stock in his line of business. 

We commence again at the square and we have F. M. 
Altland's large Dry Goods and Grocery Store. He 
has a large room, and he carries a heavy stock of 
goods. We next come to H. G. Eslinger's Clothing 
Store. He keeps constantly on hand a well assorted 
stock of ready-made clothing. We next come to the 
Hotel Central kept by Win. Sidle, which is well kept, 
but I have already referred to it. We next come 
to the Post Office, to which I have already referred in 
this book. Next we come to the Telephone Exchange 
kept by Lewis Blackford. Then we come to Mrs. 
Louisa Smith's Milliner Store. She keeps a fine lot 
of Ladies' Hats and Bonnets constantly on hand. 
Next we come to Smyser, Creager & Co.'s Hardware, 
Stove and Furniture Store, to which I have already 
referred in this book. 

Next we come to the clothing store kept by J. A. 
Lerew & Co. , where they keep constantly on hand a large 
assorted stock of ready made clothing. We next come 
to the fine Jewelry Store of N. R. Bailey. He keeps 
a large assortment of watches and clocks on hand and 
all kinds of jewelry, such as rings, breast-pins, &c, 
and the repairing of watches and clocks prompt!} 7 at- 
tended to. We next come to Miss Annie Harbold, 
Milliner. She keeps constantly on hand a large as- 
sortment of Ladies' Hats and Bonnets, &c. We then 
come to the Dillsburg Bakeiy owned by John Mc- 
Creary. This is one of the largest bakeries in Cen- 
tral Pennsylvania. He uses on an average fifty-five 
barrels of flour a week. This would be a total of 

18 



two thousand eight hundred and sixty barrels of flour 
per year. He sells in Dillsburg and in the surround- 
ing towns and country between fifteen and eighteen 
thousand dollars worth of bread, cakes and pies, an- 
nually. He employs from fourteen to sixteen men 
regularly, who do the baking and peddle his bread. 
Next we come to Kapp & Seibert's Large Dry Goods 
and Grocery Store. They have a large room, filled 
with goods in their line of business. Then we come 
to A. D. Altland, Manufacturer of Fly-Nets and 
Horse Collars, Jobber Saddlery Hardware, Whips, 
Horse Clothing and Leather. He employs as high 
as forty to fifty hands. Then we come down 
to York street and we come to L. C. Bushey's 
large Exchange Stable. He keeps on hand horses 
to sell or exchange, and deals in cattle. Win. 
H. Schriver keeps a large Farming Implement Store 
on the corner of Second and West Harrisburg Street. 
He keeps a large assortment of all kinds of farming 
implements, such as wagons, reapers, corn shellers, 
&c. , &c. Then we come to the large warehouse of 
Cook, Deardorff & Co., where they pay the highest 
market price for all kinds of grain, and they will sell 
you stone coal, phosphates, &c. , as cheap as you can 
buy it elsewhere. Then we come to the warehouse of 
S. N. Bailey & Bro. They also buy all kinds of 
grain and will sell you stone coal and phosphates at 
reasonable rates, &c. I have already referred you to 
the Railroad on another page of this book. Then we 
come to Britcher & Bender's Lumber Office. They 
keep a large asortment of lumber on hand. Their 
sales run from fifteen to twenty thousand dollars an- 

19 



nually. Tlien we come to Morrett Coover's Shirt and 
Overall Factory. It employs from thirty to forty 
men, girls and boys, and it is doing quite a good 
business. We now come to North Baltimore street, 
and come to M. D. Eby's Creamery, which is open 
every day in the week (Sunday excepted). He tells 
me he makes on an average about twenty-five hun- 
dred pounds of butter per week. That would make 
sixty-five tons of butter a year. And in connection 
with this creamery he manufactures as much as 
thirty-five hundred gallons of ice cream annually. 
The Dillsburg Ice Cream has quite a reputation for 
its good qualities. Then we come to Bauman and 
Hinkel's. Mr. Bauman makes wagons, locomobiles 
and automobiles if ordered, and repairs wagons and 
all kinds of farming implements. Mr. Hinkel manu- 
factures spokes for wagons and carriages for home 
trade, and many of them he ships to all parts of the 
world. He employs 7 hands. Then we have an 
Electric Plant that supplies the Borough with electric 
light, lighting all business houses, as well as private 
residences, and many have the electric light in their 
houses. Then we have John A. Smith & Co.'s Tin and 
Stove Store, where he constantly keeps on hand a large 
assortment of Stoves and Tinware. And the town has 
many other shops and business places. On the cor- 
ner of Baltimore and Church Streets we have the law 
offices of Logan and Logan, who are always ready to 
attend to any business in their line. Next we come 
to Dr. J. H. Graff, (Dentist), who will extract your 
teeth and give you new ones in exchange if you desire 

20 



thorn, at a very reasonable price. Next we come to 
S. H. Klugh. Undertaker and dealer in furniture. 



XIV. 

TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE. 

We have a telegraph office where you can send mes- 
sages to all parts of the Globe, and a telephone in al- 
most every business place in the town from which 
you can communicate to almost any place in the 
United States. 



XV. 
DISTINGUISHED MEN. 

Hon. Matthew Stanley Quay was born in Dillsburg, 
Sept, 30th. 1833. The old house is still standing 
where he was born. His history is well known. He 
was elected two sessions to the Pennsylvania Legisla- 
ture. He was twice elected Prothonotary of Beaver 
county, and was twice Secretary of State in Pennsyl- 
vania. In 1885 he was elected State Treasurer. He 
was chairman of the National Republican Committee 
in 1SSS, and at three different times he was Chairman 
of the Republican State Committee, and is at this 
time serving his third term in the United States Sen- 
ate, and is acknowledged by friends and his enemies 
of being the most successful political leader that this 
country ever had. 

Hon. John M. Bailey, of Huntingdon Pa,, was born 

21 



and raised in Dillsburg. He is a prominent Lawyer 
and was a member of the Convention that drew np our 
State Constitution of 1873, which was adopted by the 
people of this State by a large majority. He is at the 
present time President Judge of the 20th Judicial 
District of Pennsylvania. 

Dr. George L. Shearer was a citizen of Dillsburg 
for a period of fifty-two years, practiced medicine 
very successfully during this entire period of time. I 
have already said that he was the first Chief Burgess 
of the borough. He served quite a number of years 
as School Director very acceptably, and was often 
elected a member of the Town Council. He was one 
of the charter members that secured the charter of 
the borough of Dillsburg. He was active in all the 
public enterprises that proved beneficial to our bor- 
ough such as the early acceptance of our public 
schools in Dillsburg, and the State Eoad leading from 
Dillsburg to York, and we are also greatly indebted 
to him for the efforts he made to get a railroad to 
Dillsburg and after laboring for more than thirty 
years, he had the satisfaction of seeing the cars run- 
ning into Dillsburg. He was elected a director of the 
road and had the advantages of the road for only five 
years, 1878, when he was removed from time into 
eternity. He was succeeded in the directorship by 
his son, Dr. James M. Shearer, who survived his 
lather only four years. 

Col. S. N. Bailey was born in the year 1809, and 
lived in Dillsburg nearly all his life. He was the 
father of the Hon. John M. Bailey, of Huntingdon, 
to whom I have already referred. He was an intelli- 

22 



gent man and served three successive terms in the 
Pennsylvania Legislature very acceptably. He was 
for seven years a clerk in the Auditor General's 
Office in Harrisburg, and he was also a clerk in the 
Custom House in Philadelphia. When the Civil War 
broke out in 1861 he raised a company in Dillsburg 
and vicinity and was afterwards elected Lieut. Colonel 
of the 12th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserve 
Corps, he died in 1872. 

Jacob Heiges, the first judge of the election for 
borough officers in Dillsburg, was born in the year 
1800, he moved to Dillsburg about the year 1830, and 
built a two story rough cast house, which is still 
standing, and has its original appearance yet. Mr. 
Heiges had the reputation of making the best chairs 
that were made in the county, he was a very quiet 
citizen, and worked at his trade until he died in 1866. 
He was the father of four sons and two daughters. 
The oldest son, John M., was elected Register of 
York County and later he served three years as Clerk 
to the Commissioners, and was also a clerk in the 
Register's Office and died in 1882. His second son. 
Dr. J. D. Heiges, is a Dentist, and is doing a good 
business in his profession in the city of York, he has 
been corresponding secretary of the York County Ag- 
ricultural Society for fifteen years, and is still holding 
the position. His third son is Prof. S. B. Heiges, 
common school teacher. In 1860 and 61 he taught a 
Normal School in Dillsburg, in 1862 with Prof. W. 
H. Griffith he opened Cottage Hill College, York, Pa. , 
County Superintendent from '64 to 1870, he was Pro- 
thonotary of York County for three years. He was 

23 



the Principal of the Soldiers Orphan School at Camp 
Hill and Principal of the Shippensburg Normal School. 
He also held a position in the Pomalogieal Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, as Chemist, in Washington-, D. 
C, and has also been a public Lecturer, and also well 
known correspondent of Moore's Rural New Yorker. 
The fourth and youngest son, George W. , was a 
Lawyer by profession, and practiced at the York bar, 
he was twice elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature, 
and was afterward elected Chief Burgess of the 
borough of York, before York was incorporated as a 
city, he has since died in the prime of life. The 
youngest daughter, Elizabeth, was married to Win. 
N. Seibert, Esq., a prominent Lawyer of New Bloom- 
held. Perry County, Pa. 

Jacob Lauman was a Very prominent merchant in 
Dillsburg, at an early day. James J. Moore was his 
successor in the same business for thirty -five years, 
and he was one of the leading citizens of Dillsburg. 

Henry Sidle was also a prominent business man in 
Dillsburg for thirty years. He was in the mercantile 
business and he also kept a hotel. 



XVI. 

SOLDIERS OF THE CIVIL WAR, 

I will now give you a brief history of our soldiers 
who went into the army from Dillsburg during the 
civil war, between the year 1861 to 1865. When the 
enrollment was first taken in Dillsburg in 1861, of all 
the men between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five, 
we found the number to be sixty -six, at the last draft 

24 



made in 1865 there were but nine men left in the 
borough subject to draft. This shows that out of the 
sixty-six men who were first enrolled, fifty-seven had 
entered the United States service. Below you will 
find the names of the men who entered the civil war 
from Dillsburg, between the year 1861 to 1865, as 
follows : 



Wm. Reitzel, 
Solomon Arnold, 
S. M. Chronister, 
Wm. Harbolt, 
Americus Wickey, 
Capt. T. B. Hurst, 
Solomon Smith, 
H. C. Smyser, 
Henry Lau, 
Dr. James M. Shearer 
Dr. W. D. Bailey, 
Wm. Arnold, of D, 
Wm. Arnold, of H, 
Andrew Weimer, 
J. L. McClure, 
D. D. Bailey, 
R. A. Moore, 
G. W. Reed, 
Addison Sheffer, 
Thomas Smith, 
Henry Reed, 

Of this number 
wounded. 

D. D. Bailey, 
J. L. McClure, 



Wm. Bittinger, 
John Bowman, 
Henry Sheffer, 
Abram Rhoads, 
Jacob Koontz, 
Andrew Kinter, 
Henry Harman, 
Thomas Gardner, 
Col. S. N". Bailey, 
Jacob King, 
George Ditmer, 
Geo. L. Britcher, 
Wm. McKeever, 
Mr. Uhler, 
Alex. McKeever, 
Adam Mountz. 
Edward Moore, 
Wm. Chronister, 
David Chronister, 
Dr. N". H. Shearer. 

tlie following were killed and 

KILLED. 

Wm. Arnold of H-, 
Solomon Smith, 



25 



Wm. Arnold of D., Heniy Harman, 

Jacob Koontz, Alex. Mckeever. 

WOUNDED. 
S. M. Chronister, Wm. Bittinger, 

G. W. Reed, Henry Sheffer, 

making a total of eight killed and four wounded. The 
names of the other sixteen I cannot recall but I can 
say of a truth , that at the last call for troops there 
were only nine able bodied men between the ages of 
twenty -one and forty-five that were left in the bor- 
ough of Dillsburg. This certainly shows that Dills- 
burg furnished a full proportion of her young 
men for the protection of the Union in the sixties. 

XVII. 

DISTINGUISHED VISITORS IN DILLSBURG, 

Governor A. G, Curtin and Major General George 
G. Meade visited Dillsburg on the third day of July, 
1865. They remained in our town for about three 
hours. They were on the way to Gettysburg to assist 
in laying the corner stone of the Soldier's National 
Monument. The ladies of our town prepared bou- 
quets which were presented to them in the parlor of 
the Howard House, by A. N. Eslinger, in the name 
of the ladies. General Meade thanked the ladies and 
Governor Curtin thanked them in a very appropriate 
address. Governor Robert E. Pattison and the Gov- 
ernor's Troop visited Dillsburg August 18th, 1894, 
and stopped at the Hotel Central. They received a 
very cordial reception by our citizens, a procession 

26 



was formed, headed by the Dillsburg Brass Band, and 
our Chief Burgess S. N. Bailey, led the procession, 
followed by the Town Council and School Directors, 
and Ministers of the Gospel. At the Hotel Central 
an address of welcome was delivered by A. N. Es- 
lingei-, which was responded to by Governor Pattison, 
in a very appropriate and eloquent address, and a 
general reception given to the citizens of town and 
vicinity in the afternoon of the same day. 

The New York City council also stopped in Dills- 
burg, for dinner on their way to Gettysburg in July 
1863, to look after the dead and wounded, who fell in 
that great battle from their stale. 

XVIII. 

MEN WHO WERE SUCCESSFUL IN BUSINESS. 
Henry Sidle and sons left this place for Minneapolis 
in the year 1863 with a capital of sixty thousand dollars 
nearly all made in this place in about thirty years, 
J. J. Moore, merchant, commenced business in Dills- 
burg a poor young man, when he died in 1875, his 
estate was worth twenty-eight thousand dollars. J. B. 
Hurst, came to Dillsburg soon after the town was in- 
corporated, a poor tailor, he left the town thirty-six 
years ago, worth about twenty-five thousand dollars. 
George Wagoner, came to Dillsburg in 1843 and was 
worth less than five hundred dollars, in about twenty- 
nine years he left the town worth about sixteen thou- 
sand dollars. L. H. Watts, came to town with less 
than three hundred dollars, in about twelve years he 
left for the west with over five thousand dollars, and 

27 



there were others that were also successful in business 
which I will not name in this book. 



XIX. 

COMPARISONS. 

In 1833 we had two small dry goods and grocery 
stores, each selling about ten thousand dollars worth 
of goods annually. We had no hardware store. No 
drug store. No bakery. No factories, except a small 
whip factory. No coach shop. No Telegraph. No tele- 
phone. No daily mail. No railroad. No Bank. No 
jewelry store. No barber shop. No clothing store. No 
printing press. No shoe store. No livery stable, 
but in 1902 we have three dry goods and grocery 
stores that sell about seventy-five thousand ($75,000) 
worth of goods, 2 hardware stores with stoves and 
furniture sell at least fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) 
worth of goods. Then we have 1 drug store, 1 cream- 
ery, 1 spoke factory, 1 shirt and overall factory, 1 
electric plant, 3 stove and tin stores, 2 shoe stores, 3 
milliner stores, 1 National Bank, 1 jewelry store, 1 
bakery, 1 tailor shop, 1 coach shop, 2 undertakers, 3 
furniture stores, 6 mantua makers, 2 smith shops, 1 
chain shop, 2 livery stables, 1 printing office, 1 railroad 
office, with three trains daily, 2 warehouses, 1 lumber 
yard, 1 farmers implement store, 1 wagon-maker shop, 
3 paper hangers, 1 dentist, 2 clothing stores, 3 barber 
shops, 1 net and collar factory, 1 restaurant, 2 hotels, 
5 Ministers of the Gospel, 3 Physicians, 2 Lawyers. 

28 



All told sixty places of business at this writing, 1902. 
You will notice that nearly one-fourth of the houses 
in Dillsburg are places of business. This surely 
speaks well for a small town, with only eight hundred 
of a population. 



XX. 

INVASION OF THE CONFEDERATES. 

On June 28th, 18G3, part of the Confederate Army 
came into Dillsburg on Sunday afternoon. This was 
part of General Ewel's Corps. They were under the 
command of Col. Jenkins. They encamped over 
night just a short distance south of the borough. 
They sent squads of their soldiers into Dillsburg for 
provisions, such as bread, meat, coffee and tobacco, 
&c, and offered to pay for it in Confederate script, 
but it was worthless to our people. They left the 
camp on Monday morning the 29th, after taking all 
the good horses in the borough and from the farmers 
all around the country. On the following Wednes- 
day, July 1st, 1863, the battle of Gettysburg opened, 
and the cannonading could be heard distinctly in 
Dillsburg, and on the same day Stuart's cavalry 
passed through Dillsburg. They numbered probably 
about eight thousand, under the command of General 
Fitz Hugh Lee and General Wade Hampton. They 
robbed the stores in Dillsburg, and the post office of 
all the money and stamps and even the postmaster's 
overcoat, and all the goods they could find in the 
stores. Fitz Hugh Lee led his brigade up to Carlisle, 

29 



bombarded the town, and burned the United States 
Garrison, located there at that time. General Wade 
Hampton led his brigade out north as far as John 
Mumper's farm, where he camped for the night. This 
place is about one and one-half miles north of the 
Borough. But before morning they got word to come 
to Gettysburg immediately, so they all left during the 
night for the battlefield by the way of the mountain 
road through Beaver town, to the State road that leads 
to Gettysburg. This was the last of the Confederate 
army in Dillsburg, and it was a happy riddance to 
our town and the vicinity. 



XXI. 
IX COXCLUSIOX. 

The amount of money handled in Dillsburg in one 
year amounts to over one million eight hundred thous- 
and dollars, ( $1 , 800, 000. ) When I first knew the place 
in 1839 the surrounding country was mostly a wilder- 
ness. In the evening the cry of the whip-poor-will 
and the tree frogs could be heard around the village. 
But now (1902) the vicinity of Dillsburg is a beauti- 
ful country, well improved and produces as much 
grain per acre as any other community in Pennsyl- 
vania. In 1901 we had the water brought into town 
from elegant mountain springs with a fall of one hun- 
dred and eighty feet, which affords sufficient pressure 
to throw the water over the highest three-story build- 
ing in Dillsburg. The town is surrounded with iron 

30 



ore banks of both Magnetic and Hematite. Thous- 
ands of tons have been shipped and some is being 
shipped at this time. The town is also surrounded 
with clay called kaolin, of almost every color, to 
make brick and tiling. It has been tested by experts 
and pronounced to be of the very best quality. Dills- 
burg is at this time the central place of business, ly- 
ing between the four county seats of Dauphin, York, 
Adams and Cumberland and its future looks encour- 
aging. We also have the very best prospect for two 
trolley lines run into this place inside of a year, one 
from Dillsburg to Church! own, to form a connection 
with the Carlisle and Harrisburg route by way of 
Mechanics burg. The other from Dillsburg to Dover 
there connecting with the City of York, wh'ch would 
give the citizens of Dillsburg and vicinity the advan- 
tage of hourly transportation from Dillsburg to our 
county seat, or to Harris! urg our State Capital, or 
any other place in a rural district. Having known 
the place for sixty-three years, and being a citizen of 
the town fifty years, it gives the writer the advantage 
of knowing the place and seeing its growth and pro- 
gress I can write what I really know from personal 
observation. 



31 



CONTENTS. 





PAGE 


I. Introduction 


5 


II. Origin of Dillsburg 


5 


III. First Church 


6 


IV. First Sabbath School 


7 


V. Post Office 


8 


VI. Printing Press 


9 


VII. Eailroacl 


10 


VIII. The Bank 


10 


IX. The Morals 


12 


X. Public Schools 


13 


XL Buildings 


15 


XII. Population 


15 


XIII. Business and Business Men 


16 


XIV. Telegraph and Telephone 


21 


XV. Distinguished men 


21 


XVI. Soldiers of the Civil War 


24 


XVII. Distinguished Visitors 


26 


X VIII. Men Who were Successful 


27 


XIX. Comparison 


28 


XX. Confederate Invasion. 


29 


XX I. Conclusion 


30 


XXII. Poem 


33 



32 



XXII. 

The poetry below attached was copied from an old 
copy found in the bottom of an old bandbox and is 
reproduced in this book as an old relic. 

DILLSBURG FARE. 
1. All you that wish to see, 

A day spent in sport and glee, 
Come to the fare. 

2. Rooms we have long and wide, 
Where you may dance and slide, 

We'll have music there. 

3. Rum, Brandy and wine will be, 
Handed when call'd by thee. 

Come to the fare. 

4. Sugar, Nutmeg and Lemon Juice, 
If you would rather chose, 

Will be ready there. 

5. Figs, Reasons and Almons sweet, 
Will be sold in the street. 

Come to the fare. 

(>. Ribbons, Laces and earrings too 

The Pedlars will sell to you. 

Bring your Beaus there. 

7. Sportsmen with horses fleet, 
Here can their matches meet, 

Come to the fare. 

8. Here's half a mile of good road, 
Mind have your creatures shod. 

You can run there. 

9. Likewise upon that day, 

From Carlisle there'll be a man there 
A man at the fare. 

33 



10. Strange things will show to you, 
And walk the wire too, 

He'll have a clown there. 

11. On Tuesday the third of June, 
Early in the forenoon, 

Come to the fare. 

12. As June comes but once a year, 
Come and join in our cheer, 

There will be sport there. 



1817, 3 of June is the date hereof. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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